William Shakespeare is usually considered the greatest
dramatist and finest poet the world has ever known. No other
writer’s plays and poetry have been produced so many times or
in so many countries or translated into so many languages. One
of the major reasons for Shakespeare’s popularity is the variety
of rich characters that he successfully creates, from drunkards
and paid murderers to princes and kings and from inane fools
and court jesters to wise and noble generals. Each character
springs vividly to life upon the stage and, as they speak their
beautiful verse or prose, the characters remind the viewers of
their own personalities, traits, and flaws. Shakespeare also made
his characters very realistic. The dramatist had an amazing
knowledge of a wide variety of subjects, and his well-developed
characters reflect this knowledge, whether it be about military
science, the graces of royalty, seamanship, history, the Bible,
music, or sports.

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In Shakespeare’s time, few biographies were written, and none
of the literary men of the Elizabethan Age was considered
important enough to merit a book about his life. The first
portfolio of his works, collected as a memorial to Shakespeare
by members of his own acting company, was not published until
1623, seven years after his death. His first biography was
written one hundred years later. As a result, many of the facts of
Shakespeare’s life are unknown. It is known that he was born in
Stratford-on-Avon in England, sometime in early 1564, for his
Baptism is recorded on April 26 of that year. His mother Mary
had eight children, with William being the third. His father,
John Shakespeare, was a fairly prosperous glovemaker and
trader who owned several houses in Stratford and became the
town’s mayor when Shakespeare was a boy. The young
Shakespeare probably studied in the local grammar school and
hunted and played sports in the open fields behind his home.

The next definite information about William Shakespeare is that
the young man, at age 18, married Anne Hathaway, who was
26, on November 28, 1582. In 1583, it is recorded that Anne
gave birth to their oldest child, Susanna, and that twins, Hamnet
and Judith, were born to the couple in 1585. By 1592, the family
was living in London, where Shakespeare was busy acting in
plays and writing his own dramas. From 1592 to 1594, the
plague kept most London theaters closed, so the dramatist
turned to writing poetry during this period, and his poems,
which were actually published unlike his plays, became popular
with the masses and contributed to his good reputation as a
writer. From 1594 to the end of his career, Shakespeare
belonged to the same theatrical company, known first as Lord
Chamberlain’s Men and then as the King’s company. It is also
known that he was both a leader and stockholder in this acting
organization, which became the most prosperous group in
London, and that he was meeting with both financial success
and critical acclaim.

In 1954, Shakespeare was popular enough as an actor to
perform before Queen Elizabeth. By 1596, he owned
considerable property in London and bought one of the finest
houses in Stratford, known as New Place, in 1597. A year later,
in 1598, he bought ten percent of the stock in the Globe Theatre,
where his plays were produced. In 1608, he and his colleagues
also purchased The Blackfriars Theatre, where they began to
hold productions during the winter, returning to the Globe
during the summer months. Throughout the rest of his life,
Shakespeare continued to purchase land, homes, and businesses.
He obviously was a busy man between handling his business
ventures, performing on the stage, and writing or collaborating
on the thirty-seven plays that are credited to him.

Shakespeare’s most productive years were from 1594 to 1608,
the period in which he wrote all of his great tragedies, such as
Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Romeo and Juliet.
During these fourteen years, he furnished his acting company
with approximately two plays annually. After 1608, it appears
he went into semi-retirement, spending more time in Stratford
and creating only five plays before his death on April 23, 1616.
He was buried before the altar in the Stratford Church, where
his body still lies today. Many literary students and visitors
make a pilgrimage to this shrine each year in order to honor
William Shakespeare, still recognized after 400 years as the
world’s greatest poet and dramatist.